Having amassed over 30 podiums since making her debut in 2014, it is safe to say that German Laura Philipp is one of the most decorated athletes in the women’s professional field.

However, despite her significant successes, Philipp is frequently overlooked when it comes to the biggest races, where more established names are often favoured and dominate the limelight.

Slowly changing that narrative, the PTO World #6 demonstrated in 2023 that she is a force to be reckoned with and shared in a recent interview with TRI247 why this season will be even better.

Learning and growing as an athlete

One thing that stands out about Philipp is her conviction that she still has even more to offer. Whilst she takes pride in her good races, it’s the more difficult days on the race course that spur her on the most.

“I had some really great performances and was able to step up in my power outputs and personal development as an athlete in 2023. That was great and making my first IRONMAN World Champs podium definitely makes me very proud.

“However, I also made some mistakes and had some races where I couldn’t really show what I trained for. But, I think those are the moments when you learn the important lessons that help you to become even better in the future.”

“I am still learning a lot”

At 36 and with a decade of experience, Philipp is viewed by some as a veteran of the sport, but the German herself believes that she still has so much to learn, with the best version of Laura Philipp yet to come.

“I am still learning a lot e.g at the swim start and it’s still sometimes frustrating that I am not able to show my swim level at races.

“I am working hard and hopefully I will get a bit closer to my potential during this season. Racing the T100 will definitely be a great place to practice and learn in that department.”

Outside of the swim, the other lesson to come from this past season has involved race planning, which given the options available to professionals at the moment is no easy task.

“A valuable lesson has been that it is super important to make choices from my heart and follow my own path. That’s what I will do this season in terms of racing.

“I am not following one of the race series entirely [T100 or IRONMAN Pro Series], but instead I am going to do a mix of the races that excite me from my heart.” 

Contracted to the T100 Triathlon World Tour, but also committed to racing the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, Philipp is set to feature at a number of the top races this season and if her past performances are anything to go by, will be a frequent visitor to the podium in 2024.